Australian university partners with Indian healthcare group to boost AI healthcare
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — Monash University’s Faculty of Information Technology (IT) has entered into a strategic partnership with Apollo Hospitals, one of India’s largest healthcare networks, to drive advancements in digital health research.
The collaboration, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) earlier this year, aims to leverage shared data, technology, and expertise to enhance healthcare solutions in both Australia and India.
Leveraging Apollo’s extensive data pool
A key component of the partnership is the sharing of de-identified patient data from Apollo Hospitals. With access to over 200 million patient interactions, Monash researchers will be able to develop and train artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms for diagnosing life-threatening diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
These conditions are among the leading causes of mortality worldwide. By utilizing this vast dataset, the collaboration seeks to improve early detection and treatment outcomes through AI-driven healthcare solutions.
“We are delighted with the opportunity this provides both Apollo Hospitals and ourselves to implement first-ever digital health projects in Australia by leveraging the extensive learnings and practical experience at Apollo Hospitals,” said Professor Chris Bain, Digital Health Lead at Monash University’s Faculty of IT.
“In particular, we are keen to locally test and cross-validate the exciting clinical AI work being done by the team at Apollo Hospitals,” he added.
Bridging academia and real-world healthcare
The partnership will foster educational exchanges in addition to research initiatives. Monash University’s Faculty of IT will conduct specialized training sessions for Apollo’s healthcare professionals.
Simultaneously, Monash students will gain hands-on experience by working on real-world projects within Apollo Hospitals’ clinical settings. This practical exposure will allow students to apply their academic knowledge in real-life healthcare environments, further enhancing their learning experience.
Annual health AI event: A platform for global collaboration
The partnership also plans to establish a regular multinational Health AI event. This platform will bring together researchers, clinicians, and technology experts from both institutions to share their findings, discuss challenges, and collaborate on future innovations in clinical AI. The event is expected to become a key forum for advancing global digital health solutions.
Dr. Sujoy Kar, Vice President at Apollo Hospitals, expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration: “We at Apollo Hospitals are doing some cutting-edge work on clinical AI and its safe implementation. We are very excited at what this new partnership with Monash FIT will bring as part of our global collaborations in this space.”
This landmark partnership between Monash University and Apollo Hospitals sets the stage for transformative research in AI-driven healthcare solutions that could revolutionize disease diagnosis and treatment across both countries.
